The Meaning of O'hana
by Atarah Derek
Summary: Lilo and Nani were orphaned when their parents were killed in a car accident. What really happened that night, and how did it impact the Pelekai family?
1. That's Us Before

The Meaning of O'hana

Chapter 1: That's Us Before

_Lilo and Nani were orphaned when their parents were killed in a car accident. What really happened that night, and how did it impact the Pelekai family? Nani found herself thrust into parenthood as she struggled to hang onto the last thing in her world that was familiar to her; her six-year-old sister. This story follows the events leading up to, and following that tragic night._

"Nani!" Lilo burst through the door of her house. "Guess what! Mom and Dad got me into hula lessons!"

"That's great, Lilo," said Nani as she sat at the desk in the living room, scribbling something on a piece of paper. "Could you please go play, or something? I have to fill out this college application."

Lilo slumped. "Nani, I thought you'd be excited. I always wanted to dance. You know that. I always wanted to dance."

The eighteen-year-old gave a frustrated sigh. "Lilo, I'll be excited later," she snapped. "Now could you please just go somewhere else and leave me alone? I'm busy!"

Lilo pouted for a moment, then stuck her tongue out at her sister's turned back. The little girl then stomped away.

Mrs. Pelekai walked into the living room carrying a laundry basket full of folded, clean clothes. "What was that all about?" she asked her first born.

"My little sister refuses to let me complete this application," Nani whined. "It's supposed to be in the mail tomorrow."

"Oh, she just wanted to tell you her good news," said the experienced mother. "I know how you feel. I had three younger siblings. They were constantly driving me crazy as a teenager."

"I have enough trouble living with just one," said Nani.

Mrs. Pelekai sighed. "Nani, even though you're leaving in six months, you still need to learn how to get along with your sister. I want the time you have left in this house to be memorable."

"Oh it'll be memorable, all right, if Lilo has anything to do with it," muttered Nani.

Just then the phone rang. Lilo could be heard answering it in the kitchen. "Hello, this is our house. Can I ask who's calling? Oh. You want to talk to Nani?"

Nani jumped to her feet. "That must be David," she said. She started walking toward the kitchen.

"No, she can't come to the phone right now. She's busy with 'appreciations.'"

Nani broke into a run. "No, Lilo, don't hang..."

Lilo set the phone back on its cradle.

"Up."

Lilo cautiously looked over her shoulder at her big sister.

"Who-who was it?" Nani asked.

"Oh, just some boy named David," said Lilo.

Nani put her head in her hands and gave a frustrated groan. "Lilo, that call was important. Why didn't you let me get it?"

"You said you were busy," said Lilo, trying to defend her actions.

"I wasn't to busy to take a phone call," Nani shot back.

Lilo looked hurt. "You were too busy to listen when I told you I was gonna be in hula, but you're not too busy to talk to your stupid boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend and he's not stupid," Nani retorted. Both girls were yelling now, which had attracted the attention of both their parents.

"You're always on the phone or filling out 'appreciations,' but you never have time to play with me!" Lilo yelled.

"Well, it's not easy being a senior, especially when your annoying little sister won't let you get any work done," Nani replied. "And it's 'applications,' not 'appreciations!'"

"Whoa, hey, girls, settle down," said Mr. Pelekai, stepping between the screaming siblings. When both girls stood silently trying to catch their breath, their father continued. "Now, do we have a truce?"

"Fine," said Nani.

"Fine," repeated Lilo.

"Now, Lilo," said Mr. Pelekai, bending down to talk to his younger daughter, "Nani does have work to do, so you do need to be a little more patient. And don't worry about answering the phone while Mom and I are home, OK?"

"OK," Lilo sighed. "It's Thursday. Do you mind if I take a peanut butter sandwich and go down to the beach?"

"I think that's a good idea," said Mr. Pelekai.

As Lilo scampered up to her room to get her swimsuit, Mr. Pelekai turned to talk to Nani.

"I think that if you can take a few moments to talk to a friend, Nani, you can take a few moments to listen to Lilo's exciting news. Hula is a big deal for her, just like it was for you when you were her age."

Nani scoffed. "I was busy. Besides, Lilo's my sister. I can talk to her anytime. It's not every day you get a phone call from the hottest guy in school. Lilo should make her own friends."

"Lilo doesn't make friends easily, Nani. You know that," said Mrs. Pelekai. "And the fact that Lilo's your sister should make your relationship with her that much more of a priority over your relationship with your friends."

"But...I...she...You always take her side!"

"That's not true," said Mrs. Pelekai.

"Nani," Mr. Pelekai cut in, "what does o'hana mean?"

Nani groaned. "O'hana means family."

"And family means..."

"Nobody gets left behind," Nani mumbled.

"Or?" her dad prompted.

"Or forgotten. I know, I know."

Mr. Pelekai put a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "I know life's been tough, with school, work, and trying to save for college, but try not to take your frustration out on your sister, OK? School will be out in about a month, and you'll have more time to yourself."

Lilo ran down the stairs wearing her swimsuit. She quickly threw together a peanut butter sandwich and tossed the snack into a duffel bag. "Bye, Mom, bye, Dad, bye, Nani," she called, picking up the duffel bag and heading out the door.

As the door closed, Nani glanced at her father. "Did you know she uses that sandwich to feed fish?"

"She'd better not be," said Mr. Pelekai.

Thanks to my reviewers who called my attention to the last name I failed to see on Stitch's adoption form. If I get time after the AP Gvt test I'll sit down and write chapter three. I need to catch my plot bunny. He got away from me. Aloha!


	2. It Was Raining

Chapter 2: It Was Raining...

Free at last. Nani ran down the steps of her high school, lifting her graduation robe to avoid tripping. All the ceremonies for her class were finally over, and Nani now possessed a high school diploma. She ran into the outstretched arms of her proud parents. After a group hug, Nani swept Lilo up and hugged her tightly.

"Nani, I can't breathe," Lilo grunted.

"Sorry, Lilo," said Nani. She put the little girl down. "I'm finally free," Nani said, clutching the diploma close to her chest.

"Congradulations, honey," said Mrs. Pelekai, giving her daughter another hug.

"Well, now that all the hype is over, I'm afraid I have some bad news for you," said Mr. Pelekai. "Your mother and I have a meeting tomorrow night, and we need you to baby sit Lilo for us."

"Do I have to?" Nani whined.

"Paid, of course," her father continued.

Nani's eyes widened. "Really?" Her parents smiled.

"Hey, why don't I get paid?" complained Lilo. "I have to put up with her, too."

"Oh, stop it, Lilo," said Mrs. Pelekai. "You know, if something ever happened to us, you two would be stuck with each other."

"They'd never survive," said Mr. Pelekai.

Nani rolled her eyes. "Probably not. I don't know how you can possibly raise such an annoying, spoiled little twerp."

Lilo stuck her tongue out at her sister.

Mr. Pelekai put an arm around his older daughter. "Well, it certainly wasn't easy, which makes watching her graduate tonight all the more gratifying."

Nani's mouth dropped open, and she pushed her father away, as he chuckled.

"Come, my lovely o'hana. Let's head home. It's way past Lilo's bedtime." Mr. Pelekai linked arms with his wife and the family headed for the car.

As Nani began to get into the vehicle, she noticed a young man looking at her. She paused. The boy waved his graduation cap at her. Nani waved back shyly.

"Who was that?" Mr. Pelekai asked as the family buckled in.

"That's Nani's boyfriend," Lilo taunted.

"It is not," said Nani, her face turning red. "He's just a friend. His name is David."

"Hmm. He certainly is cute," said Mrs. Pelekai.

The next evening, Lilo sat at the window in the living room. She sighed. Nani walked in and noticed the completely bored look on her little sister's face.

"Why aren't you outside, enjoying the last of the sunlight, Lilo?" Nani asked. "It's supposed to rain later tonight. Enjoy the sun while you can."

"I don't have anyone to play with," said Lilo.

"What about the girls from your hula class?"

"They're friends with Myrtle Edmonds," Lilo explained. "And she doesn't like me."

"Why doesn't she like you?" asked Mrs. Pelekai, appearing in the doorway of the living room. She was dressed for the meeting she had to attend that night.

"She thinks I'm weird," Lilo replied.

Mrs. Pelekai sat down next to her little girl. "You're not weird," she said. "You're better than that; you're unique."

Lilo and her mother looked outside and noticed the gathering storm clouds. "Well, It looks like you're not going to get to play outside anyway," said Mrs. Pelekai. She kissed Lilo on the forehead.

Mr. Pelekai ran down the stairs, struggling with his tie. "Come on, dear, we're already late."

Mrs. Pelekai got up and pulled her coat on. Lilo scrambled down off the sofa and ran to where her parents stood at the door. "Are you sure you can't take me along?"

"Positive," said Mr. Pelekai. "Have fun tonight, kiddo."

"But what about o'hana?" Lilo pouted. Nani rolled her eyes.

Mr. Pelekai squatted to an eye-to-eye level with his daughter. "O'hana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten. That means we'll be back." He stood up again. "You take care of you sister, Nani," he said.

"I will," Nani promised.

As the couple headed out the door, Mr. Pelekai turned back briefly. "And try not to fight, OK?"

"We won't," the girls said in unison.

But later that night, that's exactly what the girls were doing.

"I told you, Lilo, Mom and Dad want you in bed by nine."

"Well it's not nine yet, Nani."

"It's 8:45. You need to get ready for bed."

"I am ready for bed."

Nani sighed. "Well, is there anything wrong with going to bed a little early tonight?"

Lilo thought for a moment. She studied the sheets of rain hitting the window. "OK, if you listen to my story."

Nani rolled her eyes. "Alright, Lilo. But I'll listen to it in your room."

Lilo led her sister upstairs to the bedroom. Thunder could be heard outside. Once in the room, Lilo sat on Nani's lap and began her story.

"Once upon a time, there was a rabbit named...Pineapple. She lived in a rabbit hole with her mom and dad. One day, there was a storm, just like this one. And Pineapple's mom and dad had to go get carrots. They were gone a long time. Pineapple began to get afraid that they forgot that she was hungry, and ate all the carrots, or that they got washed away in the rain. Soon Pineapple's mom and dad came back, and...you can tell this part, Nani."

Nani smiled. "Well, Pineapple's mom and dad had lots of carrots. They didn't even take a lick until they got home to share with Pineapple. They didn't forget her. They had the carrots and they were perfectly safe."

"But they were all wet, and caught a cold, so Pineapple had to make soup out of the carrots and take care of them," Lilo added.

Both girls giggled.

"Don't worry about Mom and Dad," Nani comforted. "They'll be home in a couple of hours." She tucked Lilo in and kissed her on the forehead. "Good night, little sister."

Once Nani had shut the door, Lilo quietly scrambled out of bed. She knelt quietly by her bedside and prayed.

"Dear God, please don't ever let Mom or Dad or especially Nani ever forget me. They're my only friends. I never forget them when they leave. And please don't really let Mom and Dad catch a cold. That was just part of my story. Thanks for my o'hana. Amen."

As Lilo climbed back into bed, a flash of lightning lit up her room. Lilo hugged her homemade doll and shuddered as thunder cracked overhead. She hoped her parents were all right.

Nani sat downstairs reading a magazine and listening to the rain hit the roof. The rhythmic sound made Nani drowsy. She reclined on the sofa and continued reading.

The ringing of the telephone woke her up. She groggily looked at a clock. 10:30. It was probably her parents calling to let her know they were on their way home. Nani noticed that it was still raining lightly as she picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Miss Pelekai?" said an authoritative voice.

"Yes?"

"I'm calling regarding your parents."

Nani paused. "Wh-what about my parents?" she asked nervously.

"They were involved in an accident."

Nani gasped. "Are they all right?"

There was a pause. "I'm sorry, Miss Pelekai. They didn't survive."

Nani felt like she had been punched in the stomach. As this shocking news sank in, she barely heard the voice on the other end of the line.

"I'll send an officer to your house at eight tomorrow to talk to you. I'm very sorry."

"Thank you," Nani whispered. She hung up the phone. How would she ever tell Lilo?

Lilo woke up as Nani gently shook her shoulder. When Lilo looked up, she saw in the dim light her sister's tear-stained face. Lilo sat up. "What happened?"

"There was an accident," Nani began, then choked up. "Mom and Dad won't be coming home."

Lilo reached for Nani. When Nani picked her up, Lilo buried her face in Nani's chest and began to sob. The girls wept together in the darkness.


End file.
